India’s new Light Utility Helicopter makes its maiden flight

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, (HAL) the public sector strong arm of India’s aviation hardware crossed yet another significant milestone today. Engineers at HAL conducted a technical flight of the new indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) in Bengaluru.

The helicopter lifted at 1210 hours and was in the air for 15 minutes inside the HAL complex. Engineers and technicians unanimously declared the flight to be flawless. The test pilots who had been conducting the flight on the new.

The test pilots who had been conducting the flight on the new aircraft agreed with the outcome.

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HAL has already developed four highly popular models of helicopters under its belt. Its product range includes, the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), the multi-role seven seater Chetak, the HAL version of Aerospatiale Lama SA 315 better known as the light combat helicopter (LCH) Cheetah and the anti-insurgency, close air support chopper known as the Lancer.

Meanwhile, the test flight of the HAL LUH marks an important and significant beginning for prototype testing of this model. This is the third indigenous helicopter product from the stables of HAL after ALH and LCH. The LUH is expected to capture a sizeable marketshare for domestic and global markets.

The LUH has a maximum All-Up-Weight (AUW) of 3,150 Kgs, fitted with Safran HE Ardiden-1U engine of 750 KW power, with a range of 350 KM, service ceiling of 6.5 KM, seating capacity of six passengers plus two pilots.

economictimes.indiatimes.com

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